Rotary missile launchers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,436 "Missile Launcher" by D. R. Campbell, provide for the internal storage of a relatively large number of missiles in a confined space and provide the ability to precisely position the weapon for ejection. This layout allows the use of a smaller weapon bay than would be required when using conventional bomb racks. As a result, the opening in the fuselage need only be slightly larger than that of the individual missile. The problem is that even a small opening will allow a considerable amount of air turbulence into the weapon bay, especially if the aircraft is at near sonic or supersonic speeds. The turbulence can cause high structural loads to be placed on the missiles, the launcher itself and any hydraulic and/or electrical equipment located within the weapon bay. Another problem is the dramatic increase in the radar cross-section of the aircraft, along with an increase in aerodynamic drag when the weapon bay doors are open.
Presently existing rotary launchers are only designed for use with missiles that are ejected from the aircraft prior to ignition of the rocket motor or jet engine. No privision exists for missiles that must be rail or tube launched. U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,334, "Missile Launcher for Aircraft by R. G. Smithers, Jr., however, does disclose a rotary launcher mounted within an aircraft which aligns a missile with a launch tube exiting the nose of the aircraft. The problem here is that the length of the launch tube must extend from the weapon bay to the nose of the aircraft taking up a considerable amount of space within the aircraft. Thus, such a system is appropriate for a large bomber type aircraft but would be impractical on a small tactical aircraft.
It should also be noted that some early jet fighters incorporated extendable flush mounted pods on the underside of the aircraft which carried small, two to three inch diameter unguided rockets which were typically fired in salvo. Another approach was to incorporate launch tubes in weapon bay doors. Again, the missiles were small in diameter and unguided. The disadvantage of such systems is that the doors are extremely large, increasing the drag and radar cross-section of the aircraft when extended.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 799,089 "Rotary Launcher System for an Aircraft" by Farley et al., (common assignee), filed Nov. 26, 1985, the possibility of air turbulence damaging the interior of the weapon bay was reduced along with a reduction of the radar cross-section. This system was designed for use with an aircraft having a weapon bay with an opening in communication with the exterior of the aircraft. A plurality of doors are mounted on the aircraft movable from an open position to a closed position so that the doors seal off part of the opening and form a portion of the external contour of the aircraft.
A rotary launcher assembly including a rotatively mounted frame member therein is mounted within the weapon bay. A plurality of weapon mounting assemblies are attached at discrete locations to the frame member and are sequentially alignable with the opening. Barrier assemblies are mounted on the frame member. When any one of the plurality of weapon mounting assemblies is aligned with the opening the barrier assemblies cooperate with the plurality of doors sealing off the weapon bay from the exterior of the aircraft. This system includes a cover assembly mounted to the weapon mounting assembly for covering the remaining portion of the opening and for cooperating with the plurality of doors to form a portion of the external contour extending completely over the opening. Thus, aerodynamic drag and radar cross-section are reduced even when a missile is ready to be launched. This system, however, is limited by the type of missiles that can be carried and in particular, at least one of the weapon mounting assemblies was required to have tube launched folded fin missiles in order to provide the reduced radar cross-section.
Other patents of interest U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,384, "Rotary Rack Launcher with Direct Load Path Suspension" by A. M. Arnold, U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,295, "Guided Missile Launching System" by G. A. Kane et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,447,941, "Aerial Bombs, Pyrotechnic Devices and the Like" by J. Imber et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,786, "Cylindrical Object Ejecting Apparatus" by F. H. Robertson.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the subject invention to provide a rotary missile launching system for an aircraft, wherein the missiles and their suspension and release devices can be easily installed and removed from the launcher thus increasing the sortie rate of the aircraft.
Another primary object of the subject invention is to provide a rotary launcher system, wherein both folded and non-folded fin missiles can be carried.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a missile launching system for an aircraft that does not require the opening of the weapon bay doors to launch a missile.
A still further object of the subject invention is to provide a rotary missile launching system for an aircraft which is capable of both ejector and rail launching of a missile.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a missile launching system that provides a reduced radar cross-section during a missile launch cycle.